Poems 2015

Michael

He didn’t care that they’d named
him for an angel. He didn’t care
that everyone thought he was no one
special. He didn’t care about god or love
or that his littlest sister tried
to kill herself when she was twelve—
except he did, but no one knew
he found her in the bathroom
with a razor and aspirin.
No one knew he cried and flushed
everything away where no one
would ever find it. And only his sister
could tell that he was really care-
ful with her for a long time after—
he didn’t pretend to pray for her soul
or tell her she was crazy, but when she climbed
into his bed at midnight, he’d hold
her forever and sing that stupid song
from the commercial he hated,
just so she could fall asleep and forget
that one time she tried
to slip away and an angel saved
her life.